A Change of Wings
by Oliver's Cupcakes
Summary: There were too many angels in this world who actually believed they were perfect. No, that wasn't true, they were raised perfect, taught that they were perfect, and trained to be as perfect as a living being could be. They still had flaws. Gilbert just happened to have an.. abundance of them. /PruCan, demon/human/angel AU! Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

_Nope nope nope this was a bad idea.. haha whatever oh no frick frickidy _  
Gilbert swiftly angled his wings upwards, narrowly missing the brick building and actually feeling his foot brush the corner slightly as he careened into the air. This probably wasn't the _best _idea he'd ever had. Angels weren't supposed to make deals in the first place, especially dangerous deals like this one, and _especially _deals with demons instead of humans, but what could he say? He wasn't perfect. _Perfect. Ha._ There were too many angels in this world who actually believed they were perfect. No, that wasn't true, they were raised perfect, taught that they were perfect, and trained to be as perfect as a living being could be. They still had flaws. Gilbert just happened to have an.. abundance of them.  
One of those flaws was that he was more demon than angel. True, he was born from two angel parents who had angel parents, had been raised as an angel, looked like an angel and was treated like one, but at heart Gilbert was pretty sure he was a demon. He certainly took advantage of being an angel, though. Flirting was made easier, humans weren't considered terrible when they made deals with him, and he could get away with nearly anything he wanted to do. There hadn't been a king or specific ruler of the angels in centuries, so the 'rules' angels had to follow were pretty lose. In fact, as far as he knew, the only ones who had to follow laws besides basics (like stealing, traffic, and such, which didn't really bother people with wings) were the humans themselves. Gilbert, at the moment, was glad for the fact he had wings, and not so much that the demon chasing him also had wings. He spread said wings out, flattening them against the wind to catch a quick updraft skywards.

"Gilbert Beilschmidt, I am going to _kill you," _the female screeched from behind him. Luckily this was not a demon he'd made a deal with, the last time he'd done that he'd ended up in the hospital. The demon in question was actually a close friend, and a close friend of a human who made a deal with him, one he'd failed to complete and stupidly still demanded the human hold up his end of the deal. It was simple, steal a few items for him- he could tell making the deal was very uncomfortable for such an esteemed man- and he'd give a few years of his life to Gilbert. An angel could live forever if he joined the city guard, which was what most angels did, but you did see the occasional angel moving around the main city who wasn't on break. It was the same deal for demons, without the benefit of ever having the chance to become a guard. Angels without this job extended their lives by draining life from the people around them, which was something most angels hated doing, draining it slowly from their lover if they weren't another angel, or in a rare case like Gilbert's, making deals with humans to instantly extend it. It helped that the lifespan of an angel was already at around one hundred and fifty years, but that could be quickly cut of if..

"GET DOWN HERE!"

Gilbert quickly spun around midair, moving his wings quickly up and down to hover there for a few moments so he could stare at the demon attempting to kill him with a frying pan. It was hard to kill an angel and harder to kill a demon, but the occasional corrupted angel could get away with it and it was a normal and legal thing for demons. You don't arrest a demon. "Elizaveta, I'm sorry to say I really don't feel like dying today, I only took _one year_of your boyfriend's lifespan so would you _please _not kill me? Pretty please?" He was answered with a loud yell of anger as she pushed her wings down, shooting up towards him. _Time to go yeah now let's go_..  
The albino angel quickly spun around again, angling his wingtips down to descend towards the ground. _Gosh dangit, why is it so foggy today, what's that sha- _"Oh shit, that's a building!" And suddenly he was crashing through a window into a crowded second-floor restaurant, skidding across the floor and scattering glass among a bunch of humans. _Great, now my wings are all cut up and bloody. That's just great. And I ruined my jeans, too._ Now was not the time to worry about clothing, though, Elizaveta had dived into the building as well and landed perfectly on the ground behind him. He glanced back and forth quickly as he scrambled to his feet. "Think.. Gilbert.. think.."

There! The cashier! "You there, blondy with the cool purple eyes! Get this chick a milkshake _stat!" _He snickered slightly to himself as the boy's eyes widened in shock before he scrambled to get a milkshake for Elizaveta. "What flavor?" _Kid thinks ahead, she'd kill me if I got her vanilla. _"Chocolate mocha, extra whipped cream," he ordered. Just as Elizaveta walked up behind him and raised her 'weapon,' he spun to face her, grabbed her wrist and handed her the milkshake. "Calm yourself down, Dämon-Mädchen. No need to get worked up about a little deal."

Minutes of explaining later, he returned to the counter just as his savior cashier was taking his hat off. _Awesome, he's got a lunch break. _"Hey, hey you, yeah, cashier boy who got Lizzy a milkshake!" he called out, getting the human's attention quickly.

"W-what? I mean yes?" The male turned to face him as he came out from behind the counter. "If there's still something you want, I'm on lunch break now, sir, and you can order from the person on du-" Gilbert shook his head as he interrupted him.  
"Nah, that's not what I want. Just wanted to say thank you for saving my ass from Elizaveta." He smirked slightly at his surprised expression; angels were known for their practiced clean speech and hearing the word 'ass' out of one's mouth probably came as a shock to the lower species. "So.. can I get you something to eat?" The blond began to shake his head. "No, please," Gilbert insisted, pulling out his trademark smirking smile. Most angels could sway a person's decision with a change of expression, but Gilbert had a certain talent for it. The human let out a small sigh.  
"Okay, my name's Matthew and it'd actually be _great _if you could get me a coffee right now. With maple syrup in it."

Soon enough, despite Matthew's protests that he really didn't have to, they were seated in a booth with both of them leaning over a coffee (with Gilbert blatantly ignoring the grumbles directed at him coming from the direction of the person forced to clean up the large glass mess). "So let me get this straight, your name's Gilbert, you're one of those deal-making angels and you got into trouble with that demon girl because you broke a deal with her human boyfriend?" Matthew asked, raising an eyebrow as he sipped his drink. Gilbert nodded, trying to figure out a comfortable position to rest his large wings in the booth. Having them spread out behind him against the cushioned seat wasn't comfortable and resulted with one squished against the window and the other out in the aisle. _This is why restaurants for angels and demons are food-stand type things, so we can walk around eating instead of these tight quarters. _"Yep, and a milkshake calms her down really fast. So what's got you working in a fast-food joint? You seem intelligent enough to have a really good job."  
"Well.. I, uh.." Matthew pulled nervously at his shirt as if there were something he'd rather not say. "If you're uncomfortable telling me, I'm not gonna press for information-"  
"No, don't worry about it, I just.." He lowered his voice. "I'm half-blooded, demon and human."

_Well, _Gilbert thought, scolding himself for not making such assumption, _That explains those beautiful violet eyes._


	2. Chapter 2

Gilbert sighed as he sat crouched on the edge of a rooftop, leaned over so he could see the younger blond fifteen stories below. Sure it was a little creepy, but he honestly wanted to see what life was like for this hybrid boy. All he'd ever known was being treated like a god despite his ever-growing list of wrongdoings. He knew plenty of demons and he knew what their lives were like- most humans tried to avoid or ignore them, but in the case they had to interact they were treated with moderate (if ironic) respect. The angel wouldn't say he didn't know a good amount of humans too- naturally in a city with a population made up of 60% humans, he had to, and they treated each other based mostly on the individual. But a demon and human hybrid was something he'd never discovered.

And that was why, after a few minutes of talking to Matthew and allowing him to go back to his job, he'd taken the liberty of waiting outside the building patiently (that was a lie, he may or may not have been buying milkshakes and sodas to drop them on every passerby's head from above) until the soft-spoken male came back out. He couldn't say flying around had been the most comfortable thing considering the amount of damage his wings had taken flying through that window, but he could deal with it- he _was_ awesome, after all. Gilbert made a mental note to see a doctor about it later._They'll be fine._

And now here he was, swooping low over a boy he'd just met and thanking sheer luck that he'd ended up with soft, noise-blocking feathers. It'd take a lot of awkward explaining to avoid seeming like a stalker if Matthew noticed him up here. He noted that the male had changed from his work outfit to a thick red hoodie despite the heat of the area, and upon closer inspection he realized there were two small bumps underneath the clothing. _So he does have wings. Oh, crap, that human uniform must be so uncomfortable, pressing them against his back like that.._ The albino made a dive to the left to avoid a bird midair, nodding apologetically at its angry chirp of acknowledgement. Though the theory that angels were closely related to birds had been disproven more than forty years prior, Gilbert still found the time to socialize with them and quite enjoyed their company.

The albino was getting lots of the information he needed, noting that every few steps someone would simply push Matthew out of the way and that he avoided others' walking paths rather than having them move out of his own way. More than once Gilbert had to resist the urge to help him out when he'd get knocked over or yelled at. _Hybrids really aren't treated well,_ he decided, staring off for a moment to contemplate the fact.

He blinked in surprise when Matthew turned a corner, lifting his left wing to make a sharp right turn and continue following the blond to who-knows-where. _Oh, that's where, he's going in there, let me just land here.._ Gilbert nearly choked in shock at this landing site. The sun had nearly set, so it might have been a trick of the light as far as he knew, but Matthew had just entered the house of Francis Bonnefoy, unabashed demon and trademark flirt. _It's Francis, so it can't hurt to take a look.._ And there in the window, Francis greeting Matthew, that couldn't be a trick of the light. The flirty demon had never mentioned having a son, but now that Gilbert thought of it, despite Francis's show-offy nature the albino had only been to the blond's house twice. Within moments Matthew had shrugged off his hoodie to reveal a more typical outfit, cut to allow wings to show. As the blond stretched Gilbert noticed the wings he'd been unable to see earlier.

They were unlike any he'd ever seen, a beautiful reddish-brown color with a sort of shiny texture rarely seen on demon wings. The most distinctive feature of the pair of limbs was there size- Matthew's wings were unbelievably small, hardly the length of his back. _That explains why he doesn't fly, those would never hold someone's weight._ His wings were also noticeably damaged, carrying a multitude of cuts and tears as well as a quite visible badly-healed broken bone. Gilbert suspected it was from neglect towards the wings; wings took a lot of effort to care for and it definitely didn't help that Matthew kept them restricted beneath his clothing during the day. Blinking, Gilbert lifted his wings to fly upwards and leave the place, but for a shocking moment he made eye contact with Francis. He stumbled backwards away from the tall building, attempting a quick escape and wincing at his failed effort when the door slammed loudly and Francis arrived outside.

"Is it too late to say I'm not a stalker?" Gilbert laughed nervously, walking to stand in front of the demon whose arms were crossed with accusation. "I think so, mon ami, but go ahead and explain yourself." Gilbert chuckled slightly to himself, recalling that he and a few others were among the last to use any language but English. "I met him when Eliza chased me into the building he works in, okay? He helped me out so I bought him a coffee. I started talking to him and ended up finding out about the hybrid thing-" a fleeting memory of a woman named Jeanne flashed in Gilbert's mind and he suddenly knew who Matthew's mother was- "and I kinda wanted to know what went on with someone.. like.. that. He's got it rough, huh.." Francis said nothing, but nodded in silent agreement.

"I didn't mention him for my own selfish reasons," Francis finally admitted after a few minutes of awkward silence. "A demon hybrid child would ruin my reputation.. and he doesn't like being known as that, either. He's told me it works better for him to exist under the radar, but with those eyes it's easy to tell." Gilbert had never known a hybrid like Matthew, but in his early years he'd learned that almost every one was born with piercing violet eyes. _Purple eyes, shining wings, why are the hybrids so gorgeous?_ Shaking the thoughts from his head, Gilbert gave Francis an awkward nod. "Well.. It's getting a little dark, isn't it. I should probably go.. don't tell Matthew I followed him, will you? Make up some excuse for being out here."

"No need, he went up to his room right before I came out. Go on, Gilbert, and don't say anything to Antonio... Or Elizaveta.. Or Roderich.. Or-"

"Got it, old man. Just be quiet," the angel laughed, lifting his wings to take off with one loud beat. He knew Francis wasn't very old by demon standards, or even by angel standards for that matter, but sometimes he had to remind himself that the demon was far older than himself at 105. Though due to the fact that the average demon lived to be 200 years old if they didn't extend their life through absorbing from others, Francis wasn't old at all. In fact, Gilbert was pretty sure he had a good 300 year maximum lifespan right now, making his human age about 28 and the same for his appearance. The demon in question stuck his tongue out at Gilbert as he flew off.

Gilbert glanced at the time on his laptop- it could be more accurately described as a hologram, but Gilbert liked the old term better- with a slight sigh. He'd tried to go to sleep several times in the last few hours, but he just couldn't get Matthew off his mind. With a few more taps he was playing a game, but still distractedly, as he'd been forming a plan since before he'd arrived at home. He wanted to help Matthew, but he just couldn't figure out how.

And with a jolt- quite a jolt, causing his wings to shoot out to the sides and nearly damage his furniture- it came to him. There was a simple way to help Matthew.

No life was better than the life of an angel, that was a concept everyone had come to grasp within their first few years. There was only a one in three chance a person would be born an angel, and if you weren't, there was most likely no way to ever change that fact. However, on the off chance an angel fell into an indescribable amount of love with a human, they could turn one human in their lifetime into an angel for a limited amount of time before absorbing their life. Not many angels utilized this, rather having their lover live a full human life than a short angel life, but sometimes a human wanted nothing more than to be an angel and most angels were people who wanted those they loved to be as happy as possible.

Gilbert could use this one chance to turn Matthew into an angel. He'd be getting an extended lifespan in return, and Matthew would get to fly and be treated- in Gilbert's words- like a god for at least four years. From his perspective it was a win-win situation.

Now how was he going to convince someone he just met to make such a reckless deal?


End file.
